


我想... 可能是我错怪了你 | I think... Maybe I Was Too Quick To Judge

by PotterheadAvengerDemigod



Category: Founder of Diabolism, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Big Brothers, Bonding, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Forgiveness, Gen, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kinda?, Light Angst, M/M, Married Couple, Married Life, Protective Older Brothers, Thirteen Years of Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn's Death, is there fluff? i guess so, just one sentence mentioning it but tagging it just to be safe, not really but mentioned emotions during that period?, oof i didnt know that was a tag but its so accurate i love it, rated for like one bad joke courtesy of wwx ofc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 20:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18630499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotterheadAvengerDemigod/pseuds/PotterheadAvengerDemigod
Summary: That Lan Xichen does not fully approve of his brother-in-law is a secret to most everyone.It is a feeling that he keeps hidden from everyone that he can, because he sees the way Wangji looks at Wei Wuxian, and Xichen will not deprive his brother of any happiness.So Xichen keeps his thoughts to himself, hides the way anger simmers lowly in his heart and disdain fights to paint itself across his features./OR/ Basically the one that explores the fact that Lan Xichen is not just all smiles and optimism.





	我想... 可能是我错怪了你 | I think... Maybe I Was Too Quick To Judge

That Lan Xichen does not fully approve of his brother-in-law is a secret to most everyone.

It is a feeling that he keeps hidden from everyone that he can, because he sees the way Wangji looks at Wei Wuxian, sees the softness in those gold eyes and the gentleness of those calloused hands. Xichen will not deprive his brother of any happiness, not if he is able to avoid doing so.

So Xichen keeps his thoughts to himself, hides the way anger simmers lowly in his heart and disdain fights to paint itself across his features.

He covers up the ugly feelings with smiles, with gentle “Young Master Wei”s and polite greetings.

He buries those feelings so deeply that he does not think even Wangji knows of their existence.

And that is good. That is a wonderful thing, because Wangji deserves the world. Wangji does not deserve to mire in the knowledge that his brother does not approve of his husband, does not deserve to be anything less than incandescent in his found love.

Xichen’s feelings do not matter here. Here, out of everything, Xichen does not have a say.

And that is fine, because it does not matter that Wei Wuxian had once so completely and thoroughly destroyed his brother. It does not matter that Wei Wuxian is the only black mark on Wangji’s record, and it does not matter that even to this day Wei Wuxian is pushing Wangji into things that Wangji would never have done before.

It does not matter that Wangji would wait on Wei Wuxian hand and foot, that he would break all of GusuLan’s rules just to see Wei Wuxian smile. It does not matter that Xichen sometimes sees his brother toiling in the kitchens, long past curfew, fingers red with spice and eyes watering from the heavy scent of chilli that lingers in the room.

It does not matter that Wangji would never have done these things before, because now Wangji is happy.

And Xichen would do a great many things to see Wangji happy.

So Xichen stays silent, and stews in his own emotions, tries not to let the silent dislike grow.

He had always thought he would grow to be close friends with whoever would eventually steal Wangji’s heart.

But Xichen cannot help how he feels, and even though Wei Wuxian’s very presence seems to have healed all the wounds on Wangji’s bleeding heart, it has also served to score ever more into Xichen’s own.

Xichen had tried to forgive Wei Wuxian for what he’d done to Wangji in his past life. He had, truly, and he’d thought he’d finally let it go. But the memories of Wangji, lying bedridden and delirious with fever, blood soaking through newly applied bandages and the stench of rust and herbs heavy in the air- try as he might, Xichen cannot let those images go.

Wangji loved so fully and wholeheartedly- it was a curse of the Lan bloodline, Xichen knows, to give their hearts so totally, to lay their hearts down on the ground and pray that they would not be trodden on, ground under the heel of another.

Xichen has not yet felt that, not truly, but when the day comes he prays that Wangji will accept his partner as Xichen has tried so hard to accept Wangji’s own.

Xichen had always thought that no one would deserve Wangji. How could anyone? His little brother was too perfect for this world. He was kind, and gentle, and he loved with everything he had.

How could anyone  _ ever  _ measure up to that? How could anyone be deserving of the full force of that devoted gaze, deserving of the way Wangji would go out of his way, would raze the world to the ground, just for one person?

No one was deserving of Wangji.

Xichen would hold true to that belief. He still does, no matter that Wei Wuxian has come into the picture.

Wei Wuxian has hurt his brother countless times, has toyed with his feelings and treated them like dirt on the ground. He has ripped his brother’s heart out and crushed it in his bare hands, laughed as the blood flowed between his fingers.

Wei Wuxian has singlehandedly wrought more damage onto Xichen’s baby brother than the entirety of the rest of the world has combined.

He is wholly undeserving of someone as kind, someone as pure and  _ good  _ as Lan Wangji, but Xichen buries those thoughts and pretends all is well, because while Wei Wuxian may never grow to be deserving of Wangji, while there is no way that Wei Wuxian could ever love Wangji as much as Wangji has loved him for so many long years, Xichen will not deny that Wei Wuxian’s presence alone is like a balm to Wangji’s soul.

So Xichen will not interfere. He will not let these thoughts slip out, will not let them poison the love Wangji holds.

He will stand by and watch, and smile, and should the day come where Wei Wuxian breaks his brother’s heart yet again, Xichen will be  _ ready. _

* * *

Xichen is not prepared for the way he finds Wei Wuxian in the kitchens, the night before Wangji’s birthday, hissing quietly as salt gets into what looks like tiny cuts that litter his fingers.

Xichen knows where the cuts are from- he’d seen Wei Wuxian sneaking off to secluded corners of the Cloud Recesses whenever Wangji was teaching lessons, and he’d followed the first few times, wary, but then he’d just seen Wei Wuxian finding himself a quiet place before he settled down and began to carve what looked like pieces of stone, so he’d left Wei Wuxian alone.

He hadn’t realised that Wei Wuxian’s stone-carving had left his hands covered in scratches, and the way Wei Wuxian winces as he picks up a slice of lemon leaves Xichen wincing a little too.

Xichen does not think Wangji will appreciate his husband injuring himself on his birthday, neither does he think Wangji will tolerate the idea of Wei Wuxian in pain, so he steps forward.

“Young Master Wei,” he greets, announcing his arrival and taking a sort of guilty pleasure in seeing the way Wei Wuxian jumps, startled.

“Ah! Elder Brother Lan,” Wei Wuxian greets after he’s gathered his wits about him. “You’re out late, I would have thought all the Lan Sect would be asleep by now!”

“Indeed,” Xichen says, letting a small, false smile slide onto his lips. “I was just about to turn in after checking on the disciples on night patrol. What about you, Young Master Wei? What are you doing up so late, I assume Wangji is already asleep?”

_ What are you doing, sneaking around behind Wangji’s back?  _ Is what Xichen really wants to say.

Wei Wuxian pauses, and then a sheepish smile makes its appearance as he rubs at the back of his neck with his free hand. “Ahh, how to explain, this is really so embarrassing… Elder Brother knows that Lan Zhan’s birthday is tomorrow, of course. This disciple just wanted to make Lan Zhan something he would like- I know he likes sweets, but- this disciple doesn’t really know how-”

Somewhere along the line, Xichen feels his smile soften into a real one.

It’s good to know that Wangji isn’t the only one doing all the spoiling in their relationship.

So Xichen steps forward, taking a look down at the pot on the stove. It contains some kind of gelatinous mass that looks like it was probably an off-white at some point, but has ended up a strange, charred gray-brown instead.

“Um, pardon me for asking, Young Master Wei, but… what were you trying to make?”

Wei Wuxian flushes red. “Ahh, I was trying this old recipe from Yunmeng… Osmanthus and water chestnut cake, I thought Lan Zhan would like it…”

Xichen remembers vaguely the dessert Wei Wuxian is speaking of- he knows from Discussion Conferences at Lotus Pier that meals in Yunmeng occasionally came with the cake as a dessert.

“Perhaps Young Master Wei would be so kind as to share the recipe with me? I could attempt to understand what went wrong.”

Xichen himself does not have any particular cooking expertise -as is, he seldom steps into the kitchen- but he does have some knowledge of food preparation, and hopefully that will be enough to solve this.

Between the two of them, it takes the better part of the night to figure out the recipe, but when they finally do both of them can’t help the grins that spread across their cheeks, and Xichen can’t even be bothered to remind Wei Wuxian of the rules when he lets out a loud whoop of joy.

They celebrate with taking a small piece of the cake, and Xichen takes a bite, savouring the soft chewiness and gentle flavour, the light sweetness that coats his palate. While its taste isn’t exactly the same as what Xichen remembers from Lotus Pier, he knows Wangji will enjoy eating this, at least. His brother’s sweet tooth may be a secret from most people, but Xichen knows how much Wangji loves all desserts. Especially one that Wei Wuxian made just for him, never mind that Xichen had helped.

“It is good,” Xichen says after swallowing, offering Wei Wuxian a smile.

Wei Wuxian smiles back.

* * *

Xichen isn’t supposed to be there when Wei Wuxian presents Wangji with the cake, but he can’t help the desire to see Wangji’s face light up, to see that barely-there smile that tugs at the corner of his lips, the way his ears will flush pink in delight and his eyes will shine.

So he completes his jobs around the Cloud Recesses before he makes his way to the jingshi, tucking himself unobtrusively out of sight by the window, where he has a decent view in but he’s blocked from any prying eyes by the overhanging tree outside.

Both Wangji and his husband are in nothing but their inner robes, Wei Wuxian seated on Wangji’s lap and running his fingers through his husband’s loose hair.

Xichen ignores the little voice in the back of his head that sounds almost terrifyingly like Uncle, telling him that spying is breaking rule number two thousand three hundred and forty-eight.

“Ah, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” that’s Wei Wuxian’s voice. “It’s your birthday today, isn’t it?”

“Mn,” followed by a quiet, “...how did you know?”

“I have my ways.”

“... You checked the clan records.”

Wei Wuxian’s voice then, jokingly wounded. “Ahh, Lan Zhan, how do you always know these things? I can’t ever hide anything from the virtuous Second Young Master Lan, can I? Ahh, how fitting of the great Han Guang-Jun, huh, can read this poor junior like an open book!”

“Not junior.”

“Eh?” Wei Wuxian says then, and Xichen sees the way his brow furrows in confusion, even as he keeps his arms looped around Wangji’s neck. “But this body really is your junior… if not junior then what, Lan Zhan?”

“Husband.”

Xichen almost chokes on his own saliva at the Wangji’s deadpan, straightforward reply, but he’s saved from discovery by Wei Wuxian’s splutter before he buries his face in Wangji’s shoulder. “What did I say about warning me before saying something like that- Lan Zhan, you always do this! See, feel how fast my heart is beating, huh, if you keep doing this my heart won’t be able to take it!”

“Your heart will be fine.”

“Okay, okay, if Han Guang-Jun says so then it must be tru- ahh, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, you distracted me again, I have gifts for you!”

“Wei Ying is gift enough.”

“Ehh-  _ Lan Zhan!  _ What did I  _ just  _ say about that, must give me some warning before saying such things!”

“Mn.”

Xichen forces down the laughter that builds in his chest, fondness bubbling in his chest as he looks upon the scene before him. Even if no one deserves Wangji, he is at least glad to see his little brother so happy.

Besides, Xichen is starting to think that he may have been too quick to judge Wei Wuxian. Even though the other man has not even known his own feelings for Wangji for even a quarter as long of a time as Wangji has harboured his own love, the scene that Xichen sees before him makes him wonder if he was wrong in thinking that Wangji’s love was not reciprocated equally.

And Wei Wuxian  _ did  _ sacrifice an entire night of sleep and suffer multiple minor injuries in trying to make Wangji a present.

“Anyway!” Wei Wuxian’s bright voice jars Xichen out of his thoughts. “Lan Zhan! Here, I made you this- I know you like sweets, Lan Zhan, and Elder Brother helped me figure out how to make it, I hope you like it!”

“Anything Wei Ying makes is good,” Wangji intones, and Xichen thinks the awestruck expression on Wei Wuxian’s face is a pretty good measure of how Wangji’s straightforward expression makes Xichen feel as well.

Then Wangji actually takes a bite of the cake, and Xichen sees the way his eyes widen ever so slightly, the way his lips purse a little before he swallows. He sees the minute twitch of Wangji’s lips and the way he eyes the cake on the plate with an approving gaze.

“Well, Lan Zhan? Do you like it?”

“Mn. It is very good, Wei Ying.”

Xichen can see read the happiness in the set of Wangji’s jaw, the enjoyment in the way he hesitantly reaches out for a second bite, and he sees the way Wei Wuxian practically glows at the praise.

“Oh, I almost forgot! I have another present for you too!”

Wei Wuxian withdraws two little carved statuettes out of his sleeves, and Xichen recognises them from those days that he had seen Wei Wuxian sneak off to some secluded corner of Cloud Recesses.

So that stone carving had been another gift for Wangji.

Now that Wei Wuxian holds the two little statues in an open palm, Xichen can see that one is carved from white jade and the other from black. Both are depictions of rabbits, almost exact copies of each other except that the black one has a small red ribbon tied around one ear while the white has a pale blue-white ribbon around its head.

Xichen stifles a small laugh, and the way Wangji’s eyes crinkle ever so slightly at the corners, the way his lips twitch- the sight strikes him almost like an arrow to the heart. He’s almost never seen Wangji this happy, joy in every gesture.

Wangji reaches out to stroke the black rabbit with a single finger, eyes soft and actions so gentle that they toe the line into loving.

“You made these?”

“Yep!” Wei Wuxian says, grinning brightly. “One for me and one for you, see, Lan Zhan?”

“Mn.”

“And there’s something special too! Can you fe-”

Wangji’s brow furrows slightly, and he places the black rabbit in his palm, holding it close. “Spiritual energy. Wei Ying, you-”

“Ahh, Han Guang-Jun is talented indeed! Able to feel the spiritual energy I put into them so quickly! Anyway, I know you always worry about me when I go night hunting with the juniors and you aren’t free to join, so I made these for us! I’ll keep the white one and you can take the black one, then we’ll be able to tell that we’re both doing okay!”

Xichen blinks a little, processing what Wei Wuxian just said. He was… implying that he’d found a way to use an object to represent a person’s wellbeing? Xichen had always known Wei Wuxian was a genius, but this was… the amount of spiritual energy it must have taken to pull off a feat like this…

Wei Wuxian’s golden core was far stronger now than it had originally been, but it was still nowhere near the level that Xichen knows he had been at initially. Wei Wuxian must have hoarded his spiritual energy for  _ months  _ to have had enough to channel into a creation like this.

Abruptly, Xichen realises how much Wei Wuxian truly loved his brother.

The ball of hatred that he’d carried in his heart for so long unknots itself, and it feels like a weight has been lifted off his chest as he looks at the way Wei Wuxian gazes upon Wangji, eyes soft and caring, the way that normal bright smile of his gentles to a slow curve of his lips, just the barest hint of white teeth. Wei Wuxian leans closer to Wangji, raising a hand to stroke down Wangji’s cheek as he presses a chaste kiss to Wangji’s lips, and Xichen feels like he’s intruding.

“And this way, I’ll know if Lan er-gege is ever in trouble too,” Wei Wuxian’s voice comes again, soft this time. “I won’t ever let Lan Zhan be alone again, okay?”

“Mn. Wei Ying will not be alone too.”

Xichen’s heart clenches in his chest, a warm feeling that he hasn’t felt in such a long time.

Truly, he had misjudged Wei Wuxian.

He is just as good for Wangji as Wangji was for him.

Lan Xichen turns to leave, content to let the couple be.

He is already out of hearing range, a few steps from the door of the jingshi and far from the window where he’d been standing, when the door behind him opens and Wei Wuxian’s voice calls his name.

Xichen freezes, then tries not to look like he’d been spying.

“Ah, Young Master Wei, how can I help you?”

“Elder Brother Lan,” Wei Wuxian greets as he makes his way to his side. “I saw a shadow at the window that looked rather like you.”

Xichen forces down the flush that wants to paint his cheeks red, and shrugs. For a long moment, he is tempted to lie, to say that he had merely been making his rounds around the Cloud Recesses, but he has already broken one rule tonight, and he does not think he would like to break another.

So Xichen offers Wei Wuxian a sheepish smile and the truth. “I do apologise for eavesdropping, Young Master Wei. I merely wanted to see how Wangji received the cake.”

Wei Wuxian laughs softly. “No need to look so guilty, Zewu-Jun! Everyone eavesdrops a little from time to time! Besides, it’s not like you saw anything  _ truly  _ private.”

The suggestive lilt that Wei Wuxian’s voice takes on towards the end of his statement steals Xichen’s reply from his tongue, leaving him staring, stunned, at the audacity of Wangji’s husband.

...Although he really should be used to Wei Wuxian’s particular brand of indecency by now.

Then Wei Wuxian’s tone sobers, falls into seriousness. “You… you don’t like me much, do you, Elder Brother?”

Lan Xichen truly does freeze this time. “I-”

“It’s fine, you know? I know I don’t deserve Lan Zhan. I just hope you won’t tell Lan Zhan about what you think about me? I wouldn’t want to make him have to choose between his beloved elder brother an-”

“I disliked you for a while, yes,” is what Xichen says then, cutting across Wei Wuxian’s ramble. “I’m actually surprised you realised, even Wangji didn’t, and he’s very well-accustomed to reading my feelings.”

Wei Wuxian offers Xichen a grin that doesn’t truly reach his eyes. “It’s far easier to tell when someone dislikes you as opposed to telling that someone dislikes someone else. Besides, Lan Zhan has never had reason to believe that you wouldn’t approve of me. It’s hard to see something that you don’t believe.”

Xichen nods, acknowledging the truth behind those words, and continues. “Yes, I did not believe that you were good enough for Wangji. You hurt him so much, after all, and you were never there to pick up the pieces after.”

“I’m-”

Xichen holds up a hand to stop what looks to be a flood of apologies. “Let me finish, Young Master Wei.

“I didn’t think you deserved Wangji, but that is in part because I do not believe that  _ anyone  _ deserves Wangji. Wangji loves wholly and completely, and falls without ever looking back, without ever realising that there is a choice. It does not matter if the love is familial or otherwise. Wangji is quiet, but he holds emotions so deep that I fear he may one day drown in them. With Mother… he loved her so deeply that it tore him apart when she died. I could only hold him and try my best to pick up the pieces, but even then Wangji has never really been the same. It was the same with you.”

“I-”

“So yes, Wei Wuxian, I hated you for a long,  _ long  _ time. You were never there when Wangji needed you to be, you never saw what you did to him, and when you were the only person who could have helped Wangji, you didn’t, because you were dead. And your death shattered Wangji unlike anything I have ever known. If it hadn’t been for Sizhui… truthfully, I do not believe he would have survived those thirteen years.”

Wei Wuxian’s gaze drops, eyes fixed to the ground, and his hair falls forward to hide his eyes. Xichen thinks he sees something glistening behind that fringe as it falls to the ground.

Still, Xichen carries on. “Your death left Wangji a shell of a man, and I had no idea how to piece him back together.

“But then you came back, and you brought the light in Wangji’s eyes back with you. I still didn’t like you, but for Wangji’s sake I tolerated you. I always thought that there was no way you could love Wangji as much as Wangji did you, but… Yesterday, in the kitchen, and today…”

Xichen ducks his head, and bows to Wei Wuxian. “I saw that I was wrong. I apologise for doubting you, Young Master Wei, and please accept my blessing on your marriage to Wangji. You… you have my approval.”

Wei Wuxian looks up at that, clearly startled, and although his red-rimmed eyes are not a surprise to see, the sight sends a pang of guilt shooting through Xichen. He hadn’t meant to upset Wei Wuxian, the truth had just come pouring out after years, decades, of keeping his feelings hidden, but then Wei Wuxian smiles, and this one lights up his eyes as well.

“This disciple is thankful for Brother-in-law’s blessing, and prays that Brother-in-law will take hope in the knowledge that I will spend my life making it up to Lan Zhan. What I have done… it cannot be excused, or undone, but I can only hope to bury misery with joy. This disciple thanks Brother-in-law for his graciousness and honesty, and will do all that he can to live up to Brother-in-law’s expectations.”

Wei Wuxian falters then, and his bright grin softens to something more gentle, more understated. “As it is, Elder Brother Lan, I really do love Lan Zhan with all my heart. I would rather be ripped apart by fierce corpses a second time than see him hurt.”

Xichen cannot really say that the sentiment pleases him, it is far too extreme of an image, but he knows Wei Wuxian is not the kind of person to joke about things like this. So while the sentiment is far from pleasant, Xichen is at least reassured that he was not wrong in finally trusting Wei Wuxian.

Perhaps he will truly have the good relationship with Wangji’s spouse that he’d always imagined he would have.

Xichen smiles back, and bows once again. “Then I leave Wangji in your care, Young Master Wei. I trust that you will treat him as he deserves to be treated.”

**Author's Note:**

> [My Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/_dreamdweller/)  
> Pop over and say hi!


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